Protect and Preserve

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com On Marco Island, an urban, intensely developed island, surrounded on three sides by dense mangrove estuary habitat and one side by the Gulf of Mexico, it really is not uncommon to see a variety of wildlife in our yards and along roadways. Driving through several island neighborhoods one recent cold November morning, more than a dozen American Kestrels were observed in just a few hours. All of these small raptors were spotted on electric lines, perching, some swooping over the grassy empty properties with their distinct “klee klee klee” call — sometimes a high-pitched ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com Florida, a sensitive and dynamic peninsula, unique in its habitat, wildlife and hydrology in the world, is the third most populous state in the nation. From the outcome of the election, it apparently has a majority of very wise people who hope to allow the next generation by providing clean water and protection to natural lands and wildlife. With a population that has doubled in 10 years to 20 million and predicted to be 30 million in the next 35 years, the overwhelming approval to keep Florida wild was an amazing historical decision made ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com A trifecta of success unfolded this summer on the Marco Island beach. Humans, shorebirds and sea turtles were all successful in their use, productivity and healthy impact to our beautiful beach. It is increasingly a tricky balance of the increased recreational use versus the protection of the natural beach. In the past couple weeks, when a typical seasonal northwest fall weather front blew over southwest Florida in combination with a full moon phase, it naturally washed sea squirts and other live organisms up on the beach from the near shore Gulf of Mexico. This ... Read More »

Stepping Stones Bob McConville Master Naturalist This is the second article in a series of three about Marco Island’s young dolphins. The first article can be viewed by going to coastalbreezenews.com under the “Environmental” heading, then under “Stepping Stones.” It is Thursday morning, Oct. 2, and the Dolphin Explorer is on the water, as usual, surveying the area dolphins. Naturalist Kent Morse and Captain Michael Tateo, along with several guests, enjoy multiple sightings which include a few adult females. Information is being logged into the data base for research purposes. Among those seen is two-time mom Sparky, but no ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com If you haven’t heard, its Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week — a week of pseudo-science and, sometimes hilarious, propaganda. Since 1988 — yes for 26 years and making it one of the longest running cable television series — this annual week of television programs on the Discovery Channel has evolved from educational programs that raised awareness of shark population decline and the importance they have in the oceans’ ecosystems to fictitious stories and ludicrous accounts of mega sharks in the waters throughout the world. Entertainment has trumped science, which does not bode well for ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com A not so well known turtle roams Marco Island. It’s not the glamorous Loggerhead Sea Turtle or the well-known Gopher Tortoise. It is very commonly seen in the beachfront dunes and near wetlands and pond areas of the island such as Barfield Bay, in Hideaway Beach conservation areas and along Spinnaker Drive. The Florida Painted Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina bauri) is a small turtle that is not only a small wonder but a treasure for the island. Its striking array of a yellow pattern on its shell is art in nature; some have said ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com One of the best holidays in our country is the 4th of July! Our nation — turning 238 years old — knows how to put on a party, right? It is a day to reflect why our nation is so great, how we are the luckiest citizens on earth, and be thankful for all those that have and do ensure that the United States remains the “land of the free.” It has always been such a big, happy, fun-filled holiday for my family growing up in California in a small town and then raising ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com Take a hike and explore one of the most beautiful ecosystems in southwest Florida, walking from Tigertail Beach Park parking lot on the new boardwalk, through the tunnel of mangroves, around the southern end of the Tigertail Lagoon, then heading north to the very tip of Sand Dollar Island “spit” that curls around toward Hideaway Beach, and then tracing your steps back. It takes almost three hours at a moderate pace; longer if you stop a few times taking in the abundance of wildlife that you can’t help but encounter. Once out on the ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com Sunday, April 20, was the fourth anniversary of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Though the oil and secondary impacts to this environmental disaster never reached the shores of Marco Island, it affected the sea turtles and shorebird populations throughout the Gulf. That summer, there was record number of volunteers willing to step up and volunteer to help marine wildlife and protect our beaches. Those numbers have dwindled over the last few years as the memory and anxiety of oil on our beaches faded. Why does it take a disaster to ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com The weather is a bit warmer. Humidity is not too high. Fresh breezes make the Gulf a little choppy, and the island is quieter. It’s spring, and that time of year when many, especially those younger than 10 years old, may be keeping an eye out for the Easter Bunny, who may be hiding eggs around their house or yard — or perhaps hiding 20,000 eggs at Mackle Park on April 19 at the annual city of Marco Island’s Spring Jubilee! Though the Easter Bunny may visit just once a year, there is a ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com Something’s got to give. Soon. The Marco Island beach is raked daily and large debris is removed by Collier County. Volunteer Beach Stewards walk the beach daily picking up at least one bag of trash – sometimes two or more. The City’s Beach Advisory Committee partners with the Marco Island Civic Association, Publix and local businesses and groups for monthly beach clean-ups which remove dozens of bags of trash in only a few hours. Friends of Tigertail, Inc. has quarterly clean-ups that hundreds participate in removing carts full of trash and debris. This equates to ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com They are tall, elegant and intensely avian. Like magnificently feathered ballerinas, Great Blue Heron, Great White Heron and the Great Egret magically grace many Southwest Florida habitats: the beach, back bay, mudflat and mangroves. And if a regular fisherman, one of these water birds hanging around the dock begging for bait is not uncommon. (Note: Please do not feed wildlife!) These three large species of wading birds are very similar. The most obvious is their stature. They are all so big; they certainly have earned their title of “grea.” That is about as simple ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com Beware! Lurking in many South Florida backyards is a small critter that will offer a terrible surprise if touched. The half to one inch long, stout-bodied brown caterpillar has a conspicuous green back with brown oval outlined in white. It’s unique coloring may entice a closer look by touching or holding it– but don’t! It is a stinging caterpillar known as the Saddleback Caterpillar. The brown oval marking on the center of its back looks like a saddle on a bright green saddle blanket, hence the silly name. Archaria stimulea (Saddleback Caterpillar) is the larvae ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com To balance out the alarming and sad stories of wildlife that have occurred recently in and around Marco Island — the pilot whale tragedy along the southwest coast of Florida, ultimately ending just south of Marco Island on Kice Island with 25 dead whales; the news of the Marco Eagle Sanctuary bald eagle pair nesting interrupted; and the shooting of a wild boar on Marco Island’s beach — a few positive wildlife interactions with people on Marco Island have occurred and need to be noted. It is safe to say that one of the ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com Each winter, the National Audubon Society holds their annual nationwide Christmas Bird Count. This is 114th year that thousands of volunteers armed with binoculars, field guides and bird lists from all over the country get out in their neighborhoods, local parks and natural areas to document each and every bird they see and hear in about eight hours. It is “citizen science” at its best, giving an overall assessment — good or bad — of bird populations that enhance biologists’ studies of bird populations, migration routes and the health of our world’s ecosystems. This count ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com As you walk along the beach, you may think you are just seeing and hearing lots of “seagulls” on the Marco Island beach, but there are many diverse and unique species of gull-like birds on the beach. Take a closer look, and you may be surprised by the diversity of bird species using the beach to rest, feed and even nest. Gulls, commonly known as “seagulls” (though many nest and breed inland), are a common beach bird on the Marco Island beach that we are all familiar with both visually and by sound. Gulls have ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com As the New Year rolls in, looking forward is a natural inclination. Reflecting on the past year’s experiences helps to improve knowledge, behavior and life in general. Many of us distill these lessons to make a list of resolutions for the new year. Sometimes resolutions are hard to stick to if they are too grandiose or complicated. Making resolutions that are a small step in the right direction or something that is easy to insert into your regular way of life are always the most successful. Resolutions that have a collective effort may be the ... Read More »

PROTECTING &PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com This past year, Marco Island’s environment had exciting conservation efforts and thrived despite increased construction and tourism and limited funding. It’s a precarious balance of people and the environment on this small barrier island in the Ten Thousand Islands, but with the community’s awareness and support, the wildlife and its habitat is holding its own. Looking back in 2013, here are a handful of projects that improved and maintained our environment: • Volunteer Beach Stewards: Launched in 2012, this award-winning program has continued to improve steadily in both numbers and messages to protect the Marco Island ... Read More »

PROTECTING & PRESERVING Nancy Richie NRichie@cityofmarcoisland.com As the rest of the country is shoveling snow, commuting dangerously on icy roadways and bundling up in scarves and coats, we are walking the sunny Marco Island crescent beach in flip-flops or even barefoot, gift shopping in shorts and t-shirts and asking for an iced peppermint latte to cool off. What a wonderful time of year! Most of us, if not all of us, live and visit here for the beauty and wildlife life that is just out our backdoors. From boating, fishing, beachcombing, tennis, golf to just our easy way of living ... Read More »